As he saw Melissa consolidating the Seer Potion, Luke eyed the students talking with Erasure Head.
Ever since yesterday, he had been having issues concentrating on anything for long.
A prayer kept booming in his mind, rocking his thoughts. The touch of fear he had felt kept breathing down his neck, as if some wrinkly fingers would slither around his throat, choking the life out of him.
During his visit to the Gray Castle, Luke had found himself incapable of relating to the nervousness the Tarot Club members showed when talking about Amon.
He had taken their words for granted, noting that the former God of Marauder Pathway was someone to fear.
However, it was only now that he truly shared their emotions.
Luke blinked several times behind the mask, once again trying to keep a rational mind. He took a deep breath and settled his raucous spirituality.
Thank you, Miss Justice, Luke said.
[It's not a permanent solution], Miss Justice warned. [I cannot keep placating you. It will only worsen the situation in the long term. You need to face the facts. Be the Scientist Luke. Not the Terrified Dr. Blessed.]
Luke nodded.
To control his stray thoughts, he cogitated and began analyzing the Cryptologist potion instead.
A Cryptologist's core ability was Decryption.
Cryptologists could recreate the truth behind anything related to mysticism or predict the development of events just from bits and scraps of evidence.
Their observation and deduction abilities experienced a massive boost compared to Sequence 8 Swindler and Sequence 9 Marauder. Not only that, but this was also the first Sequence of the Marauder Pathway that enhanced a Beyonder's Spiritual Intuition.
Cryptologist itself had increased his Spirit Points by 60 Points, Luke remembered, asking Miss Justice to display his Stats.
…
[
Blessed Stats:
Quirk — Bioalchemy
Sequence:
— Seer, Clown, Magician
— Apprentice, Trickmaster, Astrologer
— Marauder, Swindler, Cryptologist
Stats:
— Spirit: 230/485
— Stamina: 200
]
…
In the past few days, Luke had regained 5 more Spirit Points from Mushroom-nimi. However, a great chunk of his Spirit Points were still unavailable, as if trickling down from a loosely closed tap.
Combined with Luke's constant workout routine, the Potion had also shot his Stamina to an even 200 Points.
Now, as a Cryptologist, Luke could Decrypt dreams, illusions, various mysteries, and even the location of enemies. However, Miss Justice had warned him that this ability could backfire if he were to Decrypt something related to Conformity and Singularity, attracting their attention.
It became even more crucial for Luke to keep himself on his toes with Decryption now that Amon had infiltrated Earth.
Now that he knew all these abilities, Luke could barely fathom how He must have Decrypted his mobile number.
Momentarily, it had shocked him because that number belonged to Luke, not to Dr. Blessed.
If Luke wasn't wrong about it, Decrypting the logic behind Amon calling Luke meant He wasn't sure about Dr. Blessed's true identity, either.
So, He planned a call from Dr. Sam, knowing that Luke would recognize the voice if he were Dr. Blessed.
And, Luke's involuntary action of destroying the mobile, instead of acting like an unknown, confused party to all this, had all but confirmed Amon's doubt. Because why would Luke, a student of UA, react to that call with such a reaction?
But to go this far, Amon would have needed a start—a clue.
And Luke had all but served the clue to Amon on a plate.
As Dr. Blessed, he had already kidnapped himself twice for an alibi. For the people involved, this was nothing but an oddity of Dr. Blessed. For Amon — it was the key to everything!
Miss Justice had consoled Luke, saying he couldn't have known about Amon's arrival. So, in a way, his initial actions of securing an alibi in that way made sense. However, despite those placations, Luke couldn't deny the fact that he had… messed up.
Now, Amon not only knew who Dr. Blessed was, but… he also knew everything about him.
And that terrified Luke the most.
[Focus on Cryptologist…], Miss Justice reminded, placating him again with a sigh.
Luke took a deep breath and looked at Melissa, switching to Magician and activating Spirit Vision.
Melissa's Spirit Body was undergoing a tremendous change. Her Spirituality was rising as she cogitated, her breathing calming down.
Luke canceled the skill and brought his gaze back to the Crystal Ball, resuming Decryption.
Suddenly, he realized why Marauder Pathway was so… unique.
Seer, Clown, Magician, Apprentice, Trickmaster, and Astrologer — all Beyonder Sequences had abilities that needed him to switch to that Sequence to activate them. Like Spirit Vision, Danger Intuition, Door Opening, Flaming Jump, etc.
However, between Marauder, Swindler, and Cryptologist… there was no such ability.
From Theft to Thought Misdirection. From Superior Observation to Decryption. These abilities always remained activated, regardless of his current Sequence, just like physical enhancements granted by the Marauder Pathway.
A Cryptologist would always remain a Cryptologist, constantly Decrypting all secrets.
Luke gulped, the tips of his fingers throbbing as he barely sensed what kind of enemy Amon was… what kind of enemy could be.
[That's it!] Miss Justice reprimanded. [Go. Meet your friends. Calm yourself down, or the next thing Amon decrypts will be how Dr. Blessed lost control and mutated, all the while thinking about Him. Maybe that's why He contacted you. To mess with you. That's how He is, Luke. He is Deceit!]
Luke scratched his head and nodded.
I should warn Mr. Iwao first, he remembered, lampooning. He's a Swindler, too. Perhaps, better at handling calls than I am, as well. Haha!
Taking out his new mobile, Luke dialed Mr. Iwao on his burner.
"…Didn't you say you would not be available for some time, Leader?" Iron Mentor asked, traffic roaring in the background. "I already planned a trip with my daughter…"
"…" Luke forgot what he was going to talk about. Instead, he asked, "… a trip to where?"
Mr. Iwao went silent for a while, finding the question quite odd. Dr. Blessed rarely indulged himself in the members' private lives.
Still, he answered, hoping it was for a good reason. "Grand Canyon. It's only a couple of days trip to the USA…"
Luke failed to hear Mr. Iwao's further words, a chill running down his spine.
********************
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